Throwing Errors - Physical Or Mental?

Throwing Errors - Physical Or Mental?

By Jim Bain

Are throwing errors the result of a physical miscue... or a mental lapse? That, of course is a trick question because both or correct. However, do you know it's a proven fact throwing errors are the result of a mental issue more than a physical miscue?

Teaching players "How" to throw begins at Tee-ball, but learning "Where" to throw the ball does not occur until much later, possibly four or five years, into a player's career.

This makes a difference? A resounding "Yes". When players are taught situational strategy and conditioned on where to throw the ball defensive blunders, due to bad throws, drop dramatically.

To explain, let's look at the pitcher, who has to throw every ball over a rubber plate that is 17" wide and within the strike zone, as far as up and down, which could be different for every batter and every umpire. Add this control issue to the pitcher being restricted, by rules, on how and where he must throw the ball from, the pitching mound, this becomes a daunting task. Yet he is expected to achieve this pinpoint control on the greater percentages of his throws.

Now look at an example of the second baseman. The greater percentage of time this infielder, after catching the baseball, has the ability and time to move his feet in order to get into proper throwing position.

He is throwing to a target, first baseman, which could be 6 feet tall or more, with an arm span of three to four feet on either side of the base. In addition, the first baseman is permitted to move from the base, then return, in order to catch the ball. In other words, the fielder is throwing to a target which could measure 10 feet high and 14 feet wide.

Hitting a target 17 inches wide vs. one 14 feet wide, and at times thrown from the exact same distance. Based on this scenario, should there ever be a wild throw to first base created by a pure physical miscue? The answer is most likely, "Not normally."

Yet they do occur and based on proven statistics, mainly from mental mistakes. So how do we stop these mental miscues?

1. Knowing the situation and how you will react is the single most important method in eliminating mental related throwing errors. Number of outs, inning, score, speed of runners, where are force plays and numerous other factors must be analyzed and action assigned to each scenario "Before" the play.

This may seem a daunting task at first, but after obtaining experience the average player will perform this task in a matter of seconds, but it must be a mental action, it's not automatic.

2. Don't compound errors by throwing foolishly. The more throws a play involves the greater the chance of an errant throw. If the infielder muffs the play and has no chance of throwing the runner out at first, why throw it? Sometimes the smart play is to simply hold the ball and limit the damage.

3. Turning long throws into short throws reduces the risk of errors. Ever see a major league shortstop throw to the second baseman for a force out while only beating the runner by a couple of feet, when he could have thrown the batter out at first by yards and wondered why?

The throw to second was shorter. It's just that simple.

Throwing errors created by mental lapses can nearly be eliminated if the player keeps his head in the game, always analyzing, thinking ahead and asking what if this happens.

Jim Bain, former Minor league baseball player and member of "Baseball Coaches of America" shares his advice on baseball coaching baseball drills on his exciting info packed website: http://www.learn-youth-baseball-coaching.com

Be sure to check out his 2 books on Amazon, "The Pitch" and "Season of Pain". Great reading about baseball.

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Youth Baseball Digest - Good Pitcher Sometimes Can Not Throw a Strike - 10 Things to Check First

By Nick Dixon

If you have a young baseball pitcher that at times looks like a Josh Beckett or Randy Smith and other times he struggles to throw two strikes in a row, what can cause of his control problems? There are 10 key elements of his delivery that should always be checked first. Those key elements are outlined in this article.

There are 10 key elements of his delivery that should always be checked first. Those key elements are outlined below.

The 10 most common causes of control problem in Little League Pitchers are:

1. Pitcher is Not Concentrating on The Target. The pitcher does not keep his eyes locked in on the target from the start to the finish of his delivery. Many young pitchers when get half through their delivery they look away. They take their eyes off the mitt. They must keep their eyes focused on the target at all times during the delivery.

2. Bad Stride Foot Angle - The pitcher is not steeping in the direction of the target. The stride foot landing must be close to an imaginary straight line from the middle of the pitching rubber to the middle of home plate. If the pitcher steps too far to either side of this imaginary line, there will be control problems. The stride foot should land no more than an inch or two off that line to either side. It is best for some part of the stride foot to land directly on that line.

3. Bad Stride Foot Landing - The stride foot should land flat. Many times young pitchers will land on their heel. This can and will cause control problems.

4. Stride Leg Does Not Flex or Bend - Many young pitchers lock the stride leg. This locking action makes the body "pole vault" upward upon the landing of the front foot. The stride leg must bend slightly to allow the pitcher to drive and snap the hips.

5. Dragging the Back toe - The back side toe should be lifted up and out of an imaginary bucket. If a pitcher sometimes drags the back too when throwing the fastball, his control will be inconsistent. Sometimes a pitcher will intentionally drag the back toe when throwing off-speed pitches. That is acceptable so long as the pitcher is conscientious of the action.

6. Inconsistent Release Point - The pitcher is not consistent with his throwing arm extension toward the plate or his release point. To have consistent control, the pitcher must release every fastball in the same release spot. He must release very breaking ball at the same release point. It requires a lot of pitching practice to master the muscle memory that allows these release points to be consistent.

7. Not Finishing Low Enough - The pitcher does not bend at the waist. The pitcher must bend, get low, and drive through the pitch delivery. Trying to pitch while standing more upright is going to cause problems and a lack of control.

8. The Finish and Following Through are Poor - Pitch quality suffers when a pitcher does not finish properly or execute a smooth proper follow through. The pitcher's throwing arm should finish with the elbow below his off side knee. The pitcher's chin must finish down and the head should be in front of the stride toe. The head should finish lower than the waist with the back leg foot lifting above the pitcher's entire body.

9. The Trunk rotates too early - Many young pitchers open the front shoulder prematurely or rotate the truck of the body too early. The shoulder should stay closed until the weight is shifted onto the stride foot. The torso rotation should be delayed until at least 60 to 70% of the pitcher's stride is completed.

10. The grip is inconsistent - The pitcher must practice pitching enough to get a consistent feel for each pitch grip. The pitcher should keep the fastball gripped as far out in the fingers as possible. Pitchers that sometimes grip the ball wrong or change their grip without knowing it will definitely have problems throwing pitches consistently and hitting their sports.

I know that some of these keys were elementary, but sometimes it is the simplest thing that throws the most advanced pitcher we have off his game. I would always check these 10 keys to see if I could diagnose the problem and correct it as soon as possible.

I hope that you found this article to be informative and interesting. wish your team good luck in the coming season. Have a great day, Nick.

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Nick Dixon is the President and founder of Nedco Sports, a sports training company established in 1999. Dixon is also an active and full time high school baseball coach with over 25 years experience. Coach Dixon is better known as the inventor of the BatAction Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Derek Jeter Hurricane Hitting Machine, the SKLZ Target Trainer, the SKLZ Derek Jeter ZipnHit Pro, and the SKLZ Strikeback Trainer. Dixon is also a contributing writer for BaseballCoachingDigest, the Youth Baseball Digest, the Baseball Parent Guide, the Baseball 2Day Coaches Journal, and Blog4Coaches.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nick_Dixon

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College Division 1 Baseball - 3 Steps to Playing Baseball at the Highest Level

By Gary V Hawkins

If you are a high school baseball player and you are trying to get recruited to play college division 1 baseball, this article can help you reach your goal. This article will give you three powerful steps that can take immediately that will set you apart from your competition.

Step 1 - Develop Your Athletic Resume

First of all, you need to develop a great athletic resume. Your resume has to do the same thing a resume does when you are looking for a job. It has to generate more interest in you from the coaches and cause them to want to learn more about you.

In order to get the interest of college division 1 baseball coaches, your resume should all key contact information for you and for your current coaches. It should describe your key strengths and abilities. Additionally, it should give all your key stats and physical measurements (height, weight, etc.)

Step 2- Develop You List Of Potential Schools

The next step to playing college division 1 baseball is to make a list of the school you want to play for. This list should be realistic and the schools on the list should match your skills and abilities. Not everyone can play at the elite schools, but there are still plenty of other division 1 schools out there who need talented baseball players.

Your list should be at least 50 schools. A list of 100 schools will give you an even better shot at playing in college. The longer your list of schools, the better your chances will be.

Step 3- Start Making Contact With Coaches

Some people will tell you that if you are good enough to play at the next level, especially college division 1 baseball, the schools will find you. There is some truth in that statement, however, there are many high school baseball players who fly under the radar of college coaches each and every year. If you are reading this article, you just may be one of those athletes.

Contact coaches on your list by sending them your athletic resume along with a personal letter. If you have the talent and skills (baseball and athletic) to potentially play in their program, they will be glad to hear from you. Make sure you have some video available for them if they contact you back and ask for it.

Summary

Playing college division 1 football can be a reachable dream for you. Follow the three steps I have outlined in this article and you can be miles ahead of the other kids you are competing against for a scholarship....because most of them (99%) will never make contact on their own with a college coach.

"Learn more about how to get on the path to playing baseball in college, download our Free Report: Five Secrets You Must Know To Get Recruited For Athletic Scholarships.

Get your free report at: http://www.recruitedforscholarships.com/freereport.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_V_Hawkins

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If you are looking for great coaching articles, please consider one of our sites: The BaseballCoachingDigest.com, the YouthBaseballDigest.com or the BaseballParentGuide.com. Have a safe and happy season! Nick Dixon

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Simple Assessment of the 5-Tool Player

By Connor R Sullivan

In high-school baseball, discovering a 5-tool player doesn't happen every season. Well-rounded players are few and far between. A good batter practices hitting drills daily. Maybe he watches an instructional hitting DVD. A good infielder takes grounders everyday. A talented outfielder works on his throwing accuracy. A great base runner studies the moves of opposing pitchers. Although every ball player is different, and possesses varying strengths and weaknesses, every 5-tool player has a few things in common.

One trait that all 5-tool players have is versatility. Remember that kid in grade school who, during a pick-up game, was all over the field, catching every ball? He threw out every runner at any base. He batted the ball hard every time he came to the plate, usually for a home-run. He could do it all. This is basically the very definition of a 5-tool player. His versatility is evident because his skills are obvious. He is the rare player a coach can put into any position at any point in a ball game. His batting skills are valuable, whether it's a situation where power is needed, or simply a make -contact opportunity. His speed can help a team, whether with a stolen base, or tracking down a ball in the outfield. The 5-tool player can be the MVP of any team. At least, that is, if he is coach-able. This leads to another point about well-rounded ball players.

Every developed 5-tool player has access to good instruction. Most truly gifted athletes have a God-given ability. They are just naturally good at their sport. Usually, when they are young, they will take an interest in a particular area, sometimes several areas, and that is where they typically excel. At some point though, every young player needs the instruction of a good coach. A coach can be just the one to fine- tune a players skills. He can take the raw talent and develop that talent through a trained eye and through a mature outlook. The input of a coach can help a player with skill specific improvements, or can help a player in areas which are not directly related to the sport he plays. Such things as self-confidence, self-control, and the ability to be a good leader are all things a coach can model for his player.

A third area where a 5-tool player shines above his peers is in his strong work ethic. It can be tempting, especially for a high-school ball player, to rest on his reputation of being a star. Those athletes who find success for the long term are those athletes who put in the long hours of practice. The mentality of the hard worker will serve him well in his athletic career. Even the best players are capable of slumps. But the disciplined player will be in a good position to overcome. He will run out every ground ball. He will watch hours of tape. He will take extra batting practice. Also, even the best players can succumb to injury. If an injury does occur, the player with the disciplined routine will be very successful with a rehabilitation regimen. Not only is a strong work ethic important in the physical sense, but mentally as well. The player who is both mentally and physically disciplined will be a great asset to a team.

Connor R. Sullivan ordered copies of a hitting DVD to help some of the junior the kids on his baseball team. He also set up hitting drills to help them practice.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Connor_R_Sullivan

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